August 2011

P O L I C E

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S T A F F

N E W S L E T T E R

COPPERPLATE www.tayside.police.uk

SCOTTISH WOMEN’S DEVELOPMENT FORUM AWARD WINNERS 2011

Tayside Police were successful in winning two awards at the Scottish Women’s Development Forum Conference held on 1 June 2011 at the Scottish Police College.

Constable Pam Colvin was awarded the Community Service Award for the work that she has carried out as the Community Officer in Kirriemuir, Eastern Division. During her time in the community she has organised a number of youth initiatives in an effort to engage with young people and break down barriers. In 2009 and 2010 she organised and ran a community volunteer initiative which involved local young people undertaking gardening tasks for local elderly residents. This led to a positive change in the opinions and attitudes of both the young people and the elderly residents, many of the young people involved have gone on to achieve the Millennium Volunteer Award.

Chief Superintendent Colin MacKay, Divisional Commander, said, “Constable Colvin can best be described as inspirational and a role model to others. She is held in very high regard by her peers and her direct line managers. I am personally extremely proud to have such an effective and committed Community Police Officer within my Division.”

Fiona Windmill was awarded the Police Staff Member of the Year Award for the work that she has carried out in her role as Head of Firearms Licensing. For 16 years Fiona worked within this specialised role, maintaining high standards supporting several force executive members in dealing with many challenging firearms revocation cases.

The legislation in this area has changed considerably over the years and Fiona has ensured that her knowledge has remained up to date, being recognised as an expert in her field, holding the ACPOS Firearms Licensing portfolio and providing advice and assistance throughout not only Scotland but the whole of the UK. Fiona was instrumental in developing improvements to the renewals process, now widely known as ‘The Windmill Method’. Fiona not only works well with partners within the Police organisation but is well recognised for her excellent partnership working within the wider shooting community, one of whom commented “She’s been there for many if not all of my queries.’’

Fiona retired in June 2011 and we wish her the all the best in her retirement.

TAYSIDE RETAIN GOLF TITLE The annual golf match against Grampian Police took place at Craibstone Golf Club, Aberdeen on Thursday 30 June.

The Tayside team was somewhat decimated by withdrawals but managed to field a side packed with experience (old retired guys) but none of whom had ever played at Craibstone.

Tayside took the lead in the opening match when skipper Colin “Hopalong” Brough defeated the Grampian team captain 2&1 in a singles, the Grampian man possibly distracted by the fact he had not intended to play and was accompanied by his 4 year old son.

Next up, Paul “El Bandito” Hogan and Alan “Chipper” Watson won a closely fought contest on the final green, when by all accounts a Grampian putter failed the owner.

There was much admiration from the Grampian boys on the way “El Bandito” played to his 14 handicap.

IN THIS ISSUE:

The third match saw a 2 hole win for Tom “Klarty” Anderson and Brian “Melly” Melville seal the win for Tayside with a 2 hole victory, thereby retaining the Dunkeld & Banchory Shield.

Bringing up the rear, Graeme “Waggy” Waghorn and George “God” O’Donnell fell to an unlucky 4&3 defeat to give Grampian a crumb of comfort.

This event was first played in 1986 when two Special Constables, G. Mullen (Dunkeld) and W Ross (Banchory) donated the shield for a match that was played at Braemar until 1995, when it went into abeyance. It was revived in 2008 by Colin Brough of Tayside and Bryan Murray of Grampian, while they were serving members of the Scottish Police Golf Association Committee. That match was played at Kemnay and won by Grampian, who retained the Shield in 2009 in a tied match at Downfield. Tayside won it back in 2010, again at Downfield before this years triumph.

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AUG

T A Y S I D E

COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE POLICE - NEW PROCEDURES

From Friday 1 July new procedures were introduced for dealing with complaints about the police. It’s intended that they will help us to resolve complaints quicker and place greater emphasis on learning and improving rather than blaming people for mistakes that may have been made.

Deputy Chief Constable Gordon Scobbie, who has responsibility for all Professional Standards issues across the Force, said, ‘’Nobody likes being complained about, especially if we believe we have done our job to the best of our ability. Often we do this in difficult and ambiguous circumstances. ‘’But if we make mistakes, and policing is a difficult job to get it right all of the time, I want you to be comfortable with acknowledging that you could have done better without fear of recrimination. This is how organisations and individuals learn and improve. ‘’The vast majority of complaints we deal with are about situations where a member of the public believes we could have done things better. Seldom do they say that staff have deliberately done something that is criminal or would amount to serious misconduct. ‘’This is why the new complaints procedures have first line supervisors at the heart of dealing with them. I believe first line supervisors are best placed to resolve matters quickly and to the satisfaction of all parties. Where issues are minor and non-criminal I expect them to be resolved as soon as possible with the minimum of bureaucracy and in proportion to the issues of complaint. For too long we have taken a one size fits all approach to complaints.

This is disproportionate, unnecessary and wasteful. I want to see us offering accurate and meaningful explanations to complainers, recognising shortcomings, when we get it wrong, offering apologies and learning from what has happened. ‘’If you are complained about I expect your supervisor to discuss the complaint with you and give you the opportunity to consider the views of the person making the complaint. If you accept you have made a mistake, or could have done better, then I want you to engage with your supervisor to try and resolve the complaint without fear that you will get in trouble. You may need to be given advice but I would expect your supervisor to be able to do this and finalise the complaint. ‘’This is all part of learning from feedback so we can improve the service we deliver to the public. All good organisations already do this.

“Occasionally there will be serious or criminal allegations that will require more in-depth enquiry by the Professional Standards Department. I am sure you will understand that a more formal process has to be followed in such cases.’’

These revised procedures have the support of the Scottish Police Federation, ASPS and UNISON. All members of staff are encouraged to read the policy and guidance document on the Force Intranet and to view the new procedures as a positive step forward which will benefit everybody.

TAYSIDE POLICE – DEVELOPING A SOCIAL MEDIA AND DIGITAL PRESENCE • A ‘FUSS ABOUT NOTHING’? • FORMER ROYAL MARINES COMPLETE TRANS TAYSIDE CHALLENGE FOR CASH • BAWP APPOINTS NEW NATIONAL COORDINATOR

P02 | COPPERPLATE | AUG:2011

TAYSIDE POLICE – DEVELOPING A SOCIAL MEDIA AND DIGITAL PRESENCE

By Sarah Craig, Head of Digital Media and Communications and continuing impact on all areas of policing, from local policing to public order, investigation to major incidents.

The impact is specifically around engagement, transparency and accountability. This is increasingly important given the evolving policing landscape around democratic accountability, increased public involvement in policing and the changes in society which are seeing more and more people using online services in all aspects of their lives.

Easy access to technology, inexpensive ‘always on’ broadband connections and the growing use of mobile internet access means that an online presence is part of our everyday lives. We need to embrace this new form of communication because if we don’t engage with people via social media they will move on without us and we will miss the opportunity to influence them, making it more difficult to re-engage with them later.

The days of writing a press release, sending it out to the media, and waiting for the story to appear or break in a newspaper, on television, or on radio are gone. News is instant and organisations, just like the police service, are now choosing to ‘break’ their own news via their own web-sites and social media channels.

Tayside Police already has a broad tradition of community engagement which recognises the need for responsiveness, visibility and accountability. We recognise that traditional methods of communicating messages which have been relied on in the past are having less impact and are reaching fewer people. Therefore there is a real need to embrace other – growing – forms of communication. In Dundee alone there are 82,620 Facebook users. When you compare that figure to the 16,000 who read the Courier every day, you can see the potential social media sites offer to reach a far wider audience.

Here in Tayside we didn’t want to miss what people were saying about us, about our investigations, about our staff, and above all else the quality of service that we provide. We’d far rather engage with the digital community than ignore it.

Over the last few months we have been building our presence on Facebook, Twitter and You Tube and we are using these channels to good effect.

In just a few weeks we have nearly 2000 local people ‘liking’ us on Facebook, and not only have we had some incredibly useful discussions on our own Facebook page, we are also actively engaging with those on other community pages throughout the Tayside area.

Community feedback on Facebook has been incredible and the value of engaging using this tool was perfectly demonstrated during Operation Blowdown, the demolition of four multi storey blocks in the Hilltown area of Dundee where we created a community Facebook page to inform members of the community about evacuation times, road closures, and other vital information about the operation.

The page attracted over 4000 ‘likes’, with a foot print of around 25,000 individual visits to the page at one stage. This led to a reduction in the number of calls to the Force Communications Centre with community members having an online conversation about what was happening and helping each other out.

Feedback from members of the public has been extremely positive. Here’s what some local Facebook users had to say.

www.tayside.police.uk

This has been one of the best things I have seen on Facebook, well done Tayside Police. – George McAteer.

This has been great help with information, an excellent way of communicating with the public, keeping everyone updated with road closures etc. you have clearly put the big cities like Glasgow to shame, where I lived and where multis come down regularly. Well done Tayside Police. – Scott McCallum.

Fantastic use of social media.

Well done, - Marie Adelman.

Kudos to Tayside Police for involving everyone on a level literally anyone can participate in – hopefully this use of any form of social media will continue as it has been a great way to keep updated with the event, thank you! – Pauline Payne.

I always have respect for the police – but this is just even more confirmation that u guys and girls do ur best for us! This page has been great – I’d love to see pages similar created that help us, the public, to be more connected to the police so that we can all be proactive in celebrating Dundee! – Lorraine Liddell.

I think this page is very useful and a good idea all round, you have kept a lot of people in the know about details, who otherwise might have been clueless. Good job law enforcement of Tayside. – Mark Carleton.

Tweet on the Beat A Twitter trial in the Force last year proved to be very successful with community officers in South Perthshire. In addition to the Force’s corporate Twitter account, we now have 25 officers of every rank across the Force tweeting about their role on a regular basis. That number is set to rise within the next few months as we bring community officers from across the Force on-board the digital bus.

Not only is Twitter proving to be an excellent tool for pushing out news from the Force, it’s been instrumental in correcting rumour and speculation within the digital community. Back in July a rumour was circulating on Twitter that four people had died as a result of an overdose at T in the Park which was completely untrue. We were able to use Twitter to set the record straight and at the same time give peace of mind to revellers and worried parents.

Web-Site Facelift We are immensely proud of our community policing style in Tayside and wanted that style to be reflected throughout our digital and social media strategy.

In order to do that, the Force web-site is being given a facelift with a number of new options and services now available.

As part of the revamp we wanted to make sure that not only did the colour scheme work well from a design perspective, but that it also offered those with visual impairments usability and accessibility. We have done this by introducing different coloured contrast and font options so

that users can choose to increase the font size or change the background colours to make it easier for them to read. A translation tool has also been added, offering the web-site information in a number of different community languages.

Coming Soon…

To reflect and enhance our community policing style we have written a postcode search programme for the Force web-site which will allow anyone living in Tayside the ability to input their postcode and immediately find out who their local police Inspector is, who their Community officer is, and how to contact them.

They will also get key information about the community that they live in – what the policing issues are and what is being done to combat them, when the next police surgery is, and how community members can help.

On each community page there will also be an interactive forum where members of the public can either ask their local community officer questions about policing or generate discussions on policing issues. This will be managed at a local level so that we generate positive, fast two-way communication between us and the communities that we serve.

Many people have previously been discouraged from using discussion forums such as these due to the need to register as a user. These new forums, while allowing people to register in this way do not require it as anyone with a Facebook, Twitter or Google account can login using their preexisting account.

In order to launch the community pages and forums we have asked every Community Officer in the Force to provide a short introductory statement and we are currently working on pulling all of that information together, along with photographs, and hope to have these exciting new areas of the web-site up and running in the next few weeks.

Non-Geographical Communities Communities are not just neighbourhoods, it has been increasingly apparent that we serve two types of community – Geographical and Non-Geographical. These are communities that cannot be plotted on a map, such as the student community or the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Community. For this reason, we are creating on-line website pages not just for where a person lives but also for any other community they may relate to.

We are currently looking at new ways of engaging with hard to reach groups and groups of special interest. Often these may not just be single pages but entire sections of the web-site dedicated to this targeted information. The first community to receive one of these dedicated sections is the student community, and with various Freshers’ Weeks fast approaching we have created a dedicated student zone where students can find advice about personal safety topics such as nights out, accommodation, and safe travel. This area of the site has been designed to be easily read by young adults and less formal in wording and layout as to encourage users to carry on reading.

It also features a Twitter feed from Sergeant Andy Wilson who is based in the City Centre police station in Dundee. Sergeant Wilson is already tweeting relevant advice to students in the City. contd...

AUG:2011 | COPPERPLATE | P03

A ‘FUSS ABOUT NOTHING’?

What does this mean for police officers?

We understand that not all officers and members of staff are digital natives. Some take to social media tools like a duck to water, others find the entire concept completely alien.

However, what we have noticed is a universal enthusiasm to learn because officers can see the benefits of using social media to engage. A small number of community officers were part of the initial pilot and have helped us to shape a training package for staff. We are hoping to make this training a distance learning package to allow flexibility with staff. We are also proposing a mentoring system within divisions and departments so that staff members who are more adept at using social media tools can assist those new to the concept.

What’s planned for the future?

This is the tip of the digital ice-berg and we are currently exploring other ways in which these on-line tools can be used to enhance policing in Tayside. There really is no end to the way in which these tools can be used, to a large extent it’s about how creative you are in keeping the digital community interested in your channels.

If you think social media would assist you in your policing role, or have any planned events that would benefit from using social media, please get in touch with Sarah Craig, Head of Digital Media and Communications on Ext: 6730.

Web-Site www.tayside.police.uk ‘Like’ us on Facebook www.facebook.com/TaysidePolice Follow us on Twitter Twitter @TaysidePolice Watch TayPol TV on You Tube Youtube.com/taysidepolic ce

The tragic circumstances surrounding the murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells in Soham by Ian Huntley, along with an enquiry into the circumstances, carried out by Lord Bichard, proved the catalyst for Scottish Police Forces to ensure all Police and their partners were in a strong position to better protect the public by • enhancing the understanding of collaborative working amongst all partners and • continuing to improve information sharing amongst partners Lord Bichard highlighted the following areas of concerns in his report: • poor communication between agencies, resulting in the loss of relevant information • failure to manage and share intelligence and • authorities pledging to learn from previous mistakes as far back as 1973, which had not been learned.

These failures, along with a significant number of other similar events between 2004 and 2010, led to horrendous and heartbreaking events.

Across Scotland, each Police Force pledged to work hard at ensuring that such failures in partnership working would not become apparent in their area.

Information sharing amongst partners in Tayside has always been good, with well established relationships having been formed, organisations co-locating and the introduction of Public Protection Units in Tayside Police. However it is important each partner does not become complacent and always look to broaden their awareness.

In recognition that the inclusion of partner organisations was vital, to maximise, improve and develop information management, Tayside Police approached Tayside Data Sharing Partnership (TDSP) and requested their assistance. TDSP are an established group providing strategic direction, co-ordination and overall leadership in relation to all aspects of data sharing to partner organisations across Tayside.

Research was carried out and ‘Fuss About Nothing’, piloted by Dorset Police in 2009 was discovered. This is a unique, interactive one day event involving actors and designed to provoke multi-agency thinking about how organisations relate when protecting the vulnerable.

Feedback indicated that the event was significant in raising awareness of Information Sharing in the area of public protection and challenged the decision making process, in a safe learning environment and at the same time, highlighted

the immense benefits and potential pitfalls surrounding sharing or not sharing between partners. As a result, Tayside Data Sharing Partnership (TDSP) and Tayside Police brought ‘Fuss About Nothing’ to Tayside.

The event was held on 17th, 18th and 19th May 2011 at the Social Work Department premises, Balmerino Road, Dundee. Approximately 100 delegates across Tayside who historically and consistently share information attended i.e.

Tayside Police, NHS Tayside, Education, Social Work, Tayside Fire and Rescue and Voluntary Organisations.

On each day, an Executive member was present from Tayside Police, NHS Tayside and Angus Council to open the event. Members of the Violence Reduction Unit from Glasgow also attended and gave an input regarding an individual case which highlighted the dangers of not sharing information.

Delegates initially met the “Smith” family as a scenario was acted out. The groups were dispersed into break out rooms where each organisation received case notes relevant to them. Throughout the day, the organisations were responsible for implementing an action plan and deciding Should I share? Can I share? and How should I share?

The day was brought to a close with each organisation concluding which member of the Smith family was at risk and why. The whole picture was then revealed via a very impactive and emotional storyline based on a true story, resulting in the death of a family member due to organisations failing to share information with each other.

This event was very successful and is seen as a catalyst for further developing opportunities for Tayside Police and partner organisations to work together so that information sharing amongst partners within Tayside continues to improve.

All the current Information Sharing Protocols for the Force can be located on the intranet under Policy/Guidance; MOUs and Protocols. It is worthy of noting in particular, the inclusion of the first NHS Information Sharing Protocol which may be beneficial to all areas of the Force.

Please do not be afraid to utilise the experts within Force if having read the ISP you are still unsure what information can and cannot be shared. If you require further clarification, in the first instance, please refer to your line manager and thereafter Jane Davies, Data Protection Officer ext 6141.

www.tayside.police.uk

P04 | COPPERPLATE | AUG:2011

FORMER ROYAL MARINES COMPLETE TRANS TAYSIDE CHALLENGE FOR CASH Commando 999 is dedicated to former Royal Marines Commandos who currently serve (or have served) with any of the UK emergency services. Their mission is to raise funds for the Royal Marines Association (RMA) and the Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund (RMCTF) who look after the entire Corps family from cradle to grave.

The challenge is to raise as much money as possible for the RMA and in doing so, allow them to provide whatever support is necessary for the less fortunate members of the Corps family who need their help.

A group of former Royal Marines now serving primarily in Tayside Police and Tayside Fire and Rescue recently came together to do something locally for Commando 999. On 21 May 2011, they set off as individuals and teams from the western shores of Loch Tay, paddled canoes the length of the Loch and continued along the River Tay to Grandtully, a distance of 27 miles.

They exchanged boats for bikes and set off for Arbroath, cycling the 60 miles through Dundee. Once in Arbroath, the route took them on foot, running an 8 mile route to Lunan Bay. To cap the hundred mile route, the whole team came together to Speed March the final six miles to Montrose and the sea.

Their efforts raised in excess of £30,000 which has gone directly to long-term leasing two Ford S/Max cars that will be used exclusively for supporting Hasler Company, a Royal Marine Unit established specifically to help aid the recovery, rehabilitation and re-integration of Marines needing individual attention. The cars will be used when moving the injured around the country, primarily to hospital appointments.

Event organiser Conrad Trickett, a former Royal Marines Officer and now Chief Inspector with Tayside Police, along with members of the Trans Tayside Challenge team flew to London to officially hand over the cars to Hasler Company. Breakfast TV queen Lorraine Kelly supported the team from the outset and was there for the handover.

Conrad said, “In Tayside we have strong links with 45 Commando based at Royal Marines Condor, Arbroath and it seemed right to do something locally for such a worthwhile cause, especially at this time when the Commando Brigade including 45 Commando and reservists from Royal Marines Reserve Scotland are once again deployed to Helmand Province.

“The team has representatives from Tayside Police, Tayside Fire and Rescue and the Scottish Ambulance Service and have raised a masive £30,000 to add to the Commando 999 fund as it attempts to raise £1 million for the Corps by 2014, the Royal Marines 350th Birthday.”

62-year-old Ally Taylor, a retired Tayside Police officer, was the oldest participant and served in the Royal Marines in the early 1970’s.

He added, “The challenge demonstrates the underlying ethos of once a marine, always a marine, the challenge will be tough but nothing compared to the challenges faced by some of our injured colleagues rebuilding their lives on return from operations in Afghanistan – it’s the least we can do”.

Speaking at the handover, Forces sweetheart Lorraine Kelly said, “This challenge was amazing, I followed them throughout the event and am so proud they all managed to finish, they have earned every penny for this worthwhile cause.”

Here are some of the captions that we received for the photograph that appeared in the June edition off Copperplate.

“The Teletubbies try on their new outfits....Tinky Winky is a bit more impressed with his than the rather embarrassed Dipsy.” Sergeannt Gordon Fotheringham, STORM Project Co-ordinator.

“Chief Inspector Trickett models Transforming Tayside’s new multi purpose uniform.’’ Steve Brown, Policy Co-ordinator, Headquarters Division.

“Chief Inspector Trickett thought that breaking wind in a wet suit would go unnoticed.” - Inspector Ray Cuthill, Force Projects. ‘‘Inspector Hunter muffles a laugh when he sees Chief Inspector Trickett’s new clogs.’’ Steve Brown, Policy Co-ordinator, Headquarters Division.

For the next edition of Copperplate we’d like some suitable captions for this photograph of Sergeant Alan Wilson being stopped by the dog section as he prepares to board a flight from Dundee airport.

E-mail your suggestions to Sarah Craig in Corporate Communications.

BAWP APPOINTS NEW NATIONAL COORDINATOR

The British Association for Women in Policing (BAWP) has appointed its first police staff member to the fulltime role of national coordinator. Parwinder Dale from the Metropolitan Police started her new job on August 1, replacing Inspector Tracey Moynihan who returns to the Met after two years.

Parwinder brings to BAWP a wealth of experience in peoplee management and diversity having spent the past six years in the Met’s human resources department.

After graduating with a degree in politics and social policy from Brunel she joined The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and then gained diversity experience working in the UK Trade and Investment organisation as a support officer.

Six years ago she took a temporary job in the Met, which became permanent. After two years Parwinder was promoted to a human resources officer managing a team of six handling absence and sickness leave for more than 1,000 police officers and police staff, as well as answering general HR enquiries.

Parwinder said: “BAWP is an organisation inclusive to all women and has representatives from many different forces, so by coming together collectively, they have a stronger voice to raise awareness of the issues they face in the police service every day.

“BAWP is also appealing and inspirational to me as it provides a platform for women to overcome the hurdles they face and help progress forward in their roles. I’m really looking forward to it.”

www.tayside.police.uk

ae ar t fff magazine – whether youu ta Copperplate is a sta support staff, your a police officer or member of would like to hear opinions count. That is why we or suggestions that from you with any news, views ed in Copperplate. you would like to see publish contact Sarah If you have a story idea, please unications mm or Damon in the Corporate Co Department on; ) 596730 Telephone: Sarah (01382 e.pnn.police.uk E-Mail: sarah.craig@taysid ) 596731 Telephone: Damon (01382 side.pnn.police.uk E-Mail: damon.rhind.@tay

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